Freight traffic requires a large portion of road and highway usage in the United States as well as around the world. For example, in the U.S., approximately 60% of freight is carried by trucks. It is helpful for agencies such as, for example, the U.S. Department of Transportation, to identify and monitor in real-time, freight vehicles on roads so that the agencies can optimize traffic patterns, reduce traffic congestion, plan road maintenance and maintain functioning road networks.
Currently, there is no efficient way of monitoring freight traffic. A known solution is to require that each freight company install their own global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices on their vehicles. This solution can be costly given the requirement of dedicated tracking devices and constant data connectivity (e.g., 3G data connectivity) from tracking devices to freight control centers. This solution is not scalable since freight companies may be unwilling to share the location of their vehicles with other agencies due to hardware limitations or business concerns.